The Lord raised
up judges, who saved them (Judges
2:16).
Here in the opening
chapters of Judges the writer sets the stage for hundreds of years of Israel
chasing after foreign gods. Theirs was a rollercoaster ride of faith and
faithlessness. Every time God raised up a judge to lead and deliver them,
Israel would behave as long as he (or she) was alive, but once he died, the
nation would forget his faithfulness and forget Yahweh too.
The third chapter
introduces three judges. We’ve already met the first. Othniel (Joshua 15) is
Caleb’s nephew, who captures Kiriath Sepher and wins the hand of Caleb’s
daughter in the process (gotta love an action romance story – probably had
explosions... maybe not).
Then we meet Ehud,
the left-handed judge. This was a paradox – the right hand was the hand of
honor; being left-handed was a euphemism for being dishonest, or at the very
least crafty. To that regard, Ehud lived up to his street cred, using
subterfuge to assassinate Moab’s king and free Israel from Moabite oppression.
Finally Shamgar
defeats 600 Philistines with an oxgoad (a sharp stick used to drive cattle) –
impressive if there’d only been 500.
The ongoing pattern
for this book is Israel rejects God; Israel gets in trouble; they cry out to
God for relief; God raises up a judge who delivers them and leads them until
his death, at which time Israel once again rejects God.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Ever get yourself into
trouble and then cry out for God to save you? Think over those times and ask
God to help you learn from experience.
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